


Forgotten Words

by SweetAlphaChild



Category: Naruto
Genre: Birthday, Birthday Cake, Birthday Fluff, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Nightmares, pre-obidei, pre-tobidei
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-12
Updated: 2020-02-12
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:48:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22667290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SweetAlphaChild/pseuds/SweetAlphaChild
Summary: There is nothing wrong about celebrating one more year in the world. Obito forgot about it. Deidara makes him remember.
Relationships: Deidara/Tobi (Naruto), Deidara/Uchiha Obito
Comments: 5
Kudos: 66





	Forgotten Words

Deidara opened his eyes, sure about having heard Tobi's voice.

"What's up?" he said. He rubbed his eye and yawned. "Why don't you go to sleep earlier for once?"

He got no response and Deidara was now fully awake. It wasn't going to be easy to fall asleep again. He rested his body on one of his elbows, fumbled in the darkness looking for the matches and lit the candle.

"Tobi," Deidara insisted.

His partner was face up on his futon. He couldn't tell whether he was awake or asleep thanks to that stupid orange mask he always insisted on wearing.

"It's not pointless, you idiot," said Tobi and Deidara noticed immediately that his tone of voice was different from the usual one.

It was the strongest swear word he had ever heard Tobi say. Deidara frowned, examining the long shadows cast by the candlelight in the furrows of the mask.

"You say that because you don't care about anything in the world. Except for missions and those crap depressing-ass books you read."

As he suspected, Tobi was sleep-talking. It wasn't the first time he did it but he had never heard him so angry before. It was weird, like a dog that meows or a cat that barks. Deidara wondered who was the 'idiot of the crap depressing-ass books'. He was sure he didn't know the person he was shouting at. Tobi was still a mystery to him after all. For that reason, Deidara didn't interrupt him.

"What's wrong about celebrating one more year of our lives? You don't know if we're going to be here next year.” Tobi squirmed under the duvet. He turned to the other side and then returned to the starting position. "You don't know... You don't know... This could be our last birthday."

"Did you say birthday?" Mumbled Deidara. So that was what it was all about. He sat cross-legged on the futon. "Tobi, is it your birthday?"

He could hear whimpers behind the swirly mask.

"Don't pretend you don't know it!"

Deidara decided it was enough. Tobi was still stirring. It was obvious that he was having a bad time.

"Tobi!" Deidara crawled to his partner's futon, took him by the shoulder and shook him a little. "Tobi, wake up."

A gloved hand came out from under the blanket and grabbed his wrist. Deidara held his breath. Tobi no longer whimpered, but he also showed no signs of being awake.

"What's wrong with you, hm?" Deidara said.

With his hand-tongue he licked the glove, then gave a gentle tug, his hand caught in black leather slipping slowly. Until Tobi grabbed him again, entwining his fingers with Deidara's.

"Deidara...?" Said Tobi, his voice feeble.

"Better?"

A few seconds passed until Tobi responded.

"M'cold," he slurred.

Tobi hugged his legs and placed his head on his lap. Deidara opened his mouth but no sound came out of it. Warmth rose to his face when he noticed the extra weight on his bare thighs.

"How can you be cold with all those layers on, hm? We are not in the Land of Iron!"

Deidara raised his voice, but regretted it straight away. It was his birthday and he had started it with a nightmare. In a reassuring gesture, he stroked Tobi's short, thick hair.

"Mmm… I like that," said Tobi. His voice was now the same as always, more or less.

Deidara's hand froze, the warm feeling in his chest made him sigh. Then he smirked and carried on stroking his hair.

"You like it, don't you? You cheeky shit."

Although he'd rather have it done to him, Deidara found relaxing feeling Tobi's hair under his fingers. His mind wandered on everything he had just heard from Tobi. He wondered why those memories still felt painful in his mind. Tobi had spoken like a child, words and tone let him know. And Deidara had moved on from all the stupid things his friends pissed him off about when he was a brat.

He also wondered why there was a wound that didn't seem to be healing. But what had impacted him most was something else. He never thought that Tobi could have those ideas, which had a faint resemblance to his philosophy of life.

That could be his last birthday.

Deidara clenched his jaw, his fist closed gently around a strand of hair. He wanted to do something to celebrate Tobi's birthday.

"You know it's winter and you have me here in my underwear cuddling you," Deidara said, aiming to make him him at least a bit uncomfortable.

Tobi didn't answer and Deidara hoped that at least the rest of his night would be more peaceful. He stroked his hair until he got goosebumps on his arms and legs. Deidara moved Tobi to his futon. Then he went to get a blanket out of the closet and tucked him well before blowing the candle out and going back to bed.

* * *

Leaning on the table, Deidara looked at the small cardboard box decorated with a bow in front of him. His heel drummed the floor while he decided what to do next. He hadn't thought much when he left in the morning while Tobi was still sleeping and flew to the nearest city to buy a cake.

He hadn't had time to tell him what he heard last night. Deidara didn't think it was the most appropriate time to bring up the subject, but he still had to justify purchasing that cake without having to lie to him.

Deidara got up and went to the drawer where he kept his clay. He would tell him some details, but not everything. Normally when he wanted to find Tobi, Deidara called Zetsu and he, always efficient, brought him a couple of minutes later. But that was a private celebration between senpai and kohai and he wasn't going to share the cake with anyone but the birthday boy.

His hands started to chew the clay and one after another, little birds, all different from each other, came out of the hand-mouths and stood in formation on the table of Deidara's workshop.

"Look for Tobi," he instructed. "And if he doesn't want to come, then you must explode one by one until he changes his mind, hm."

All his creations nodded at once and flew away through the ajar door. While he waited, Deidara took a candle from the drawer. He split it in two with a kunai, trimmed it until he was satisfied with its new size and carved in a small superflat creature. The final touch to a cake that was going to be even more fleeting than his art as soon as they started with it.

Deidara managed to redo the bow and put the box behind his back on time. Then Tobi crossed the door, guided by some of his birds while others pulled from his clothes.

"Aw, senpai!" You brought me here with little birds like a fairytale princess,” Tobi said. Deidara laughed, omitting the detail that if had he refused to go, it wouldn't have been such an idyllic experience. "What do you need me for? What do you have hidden behind your back? D-don't tell me I'm in trouble!"

Tobi stepped back, putting both arms in front of his body. Deidara moved forward.

"Think a little, hm."

Did Tobi remember what happened last night?

"I don't know what it can be," Tobi scratched his head. "I always behave well. It's senpai who gets mad at literally everything."

"Then..." as it was Tobi's birthday, Deidara was willing to be more patient with him. He took out the gift and offered it to him. "What do you think is in this box?"

"Huh... A... Bomb?"

Tobi still doubted whether to take the present or not. Deidara brought it closer.

"How are you so sure, hm?"

"Well, it's always a bomb." Tobi giggled nervously and put his hands away from the gift.

Deidara decided he had been patient enough.

"Shut your mouth and take your damn birthday present before I give you an actual bomb!" He exclaimed, taking another step forward.

"Birthday."

Tobi didn't seem about to add anything else to his sentence.

"Last night while sleeping you mumbled something about today being your birthday. You should have told me earlier, hm.” Even with Deidara's explanation, Tobi didn't react. The silence between them turned eerie. "If you're going to say why I didn't talk to you first, it's obvious that it was because I wanted to surprise you."

Still more silence. And just when he frowned and several theories popped in his head, Tobi let out a sharp squeal of joy.

"You thought about me!" Tobi hugged him tight, laughing. Deidara tensed and slowly relaxed until he smiled. Sometimes he protested at Tobi's habit of not respecting his personal space. But that time he wouldn't. He rested his head on his chest and closed his eyes to better enjoy the comforting warmth of the hug on that February morning. "Deidara-senpai gave me a birthday gift despite always complaining about me for not being a respectable ninja, according to him!"

Deidara pushed him, but failed to get Tobi off him.

"I don't do this as a ninja, you dumbass." Deidara made a pause. "There is nothing wrong with celebrating a birthday, hm."

Tobi released him, taking the box at last.

"But I thought that was a kids thing. Now we are tough guys! We are members of the Akatsuki!" Exclaimed Tobi.

Deidara wondered how could the Tobi who heard talk in dreams and that Tobi think so differently.

"Fuck the Akatsuki and fuck everyone else who thinks that celebrating that we are one more year in the world is stupid. We are more than just partners. We are friends. And if I want to celebrate your birthday, I celebrate it, period."

Tobi's fingers fiddled with the ribbon.

"Deidara..."

"Besides..."

...this could be our last birthday.

"Besides what, senpai?"

He couldn't tell him that.

"Besides, any excuse to eat cake is good. Open that now or I'll do it, hm,” said Deidara.

He reached out to take the box back, fed up of seeing it still tied up. Tobi pulled it away from him.

"Nope, nope. It's my gift.” The orange mask hole pointed at the box. "The first in many, many years."

His voice was deeper again.

Deidara watched as he tugged the ribbon off the box and undid the bow. Then he placed it on the table and took the small cake from it. A circle of strawberries surrounded the candle he had made himself.

"It has chocolate filling, like you and me like it," Deidara said when he saw that Tobi was staring at the cake in silence.

Tobi brushed one of the strawberries with his gloved finger.

"I haven't eaten strawberries for many years too," he mumbled. Deidara wondered if he was talking to himself or to him.

"You don't like them?"

"I do, but... It doesn't matter!" He exclaimed all of a sudden. "Let's eat cake, senpai!"

"But before we eat it..." Deidara took the cake and concentrated some fire chakra on the tip of his finger. He lit the candle by touching the wick. "You have to blow up the candle, hm."

"Oh."

Tobi stroked his chin. Deidara wasn't expecting anything other than one of his usual tricks, but to his surprise, he moved the mask aside.

"I hope we celebrate many more birthdays. Together."

"You aren't supposed to say the wish out loud, hm," Deidara said.

Tobi blew. The candle went out. And the small stream of air hit his face and lifted a strand of hair.

"Happy birthday, Tobi," said Deidara, his eyes glued to his partner's slighly chapped lips. After his words, they curved into a weak smile.

He also wanted many happy returns. But if there weren't, he would make sure this one was worth it.

"Thank you, senpai."

"And now let's eat, hm!"

And taking a kunai out of his pocket, Deidara split the cake into two pieces.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy birthday Obito!
> 
> The idea came to me quite late late, after deciding that I wasn't going to write anything. But I can't leave poor Obito without a gift T_T sdsñladsñalsñ. My original idea was to make a continuation of Come Undone, both of them visiting Sapporo for the Yuki Matsuri but that would have taken me longer. Maybe in the future?
> 
> Rin's favorite food is strawberries. And Obito could never eat them again because they remind him of her. This is the first time he will eat strawberries since she died. Obito is a sleep talker, I think it got mentioned a couple of times in the series.
> 
> I hope you liked it! ^^


End file.
